Leaf. We begin with that massive cyber attack here in london. Officials still grappling with its consequences. Thousands of businesses and organizations disrupted. A computer virus attacked software, holding systems hostage for ransom. Nearly 100 countries affected including in the u. S. Where fedex was targeted. Nbcs Kelly Cobiella has more from here in london. The latest victim of this massive cyber assault french carmaker rane. A plant in slovenia and two others in france had to stop the virus from spreading. The virus began infecting in Britains NationalHealth Service friday. Emergency rooms closed, ambulances had to be diverted and doctors were canceling visits and surgeries because they couldnt access patient files or hospital records. That disruption continuing today. The virus affected tens of thousands of Computer Systems in more than 70 countries. Russias interior ministry and fedex among the targets. The worm gets into the Computer Network first through a bad link in an email then quickly spreads throughout a company locking computers and demanding a 300 ransom in bitcoin. Today, the Guardian Newspaper is reporting that a 22yearold Cyber Security researcher may have accidentally activated a kill switch. And at least slowed the spread of this. But he along with microsoft and governments around the world are telling users to update their computers with the latest security patch. Its not yet clear whos responsible for this. Euro p europol calls it unprecedented and will take intricate investigation. At least six candidates are being interviewed at the department of justice. Nbcs Kelly Odonnell is following developments live at the white house. Kelly, how long do we expect this process to take . We dont have an exact timeline except to kind of the president s words where he wants tooed this fast. Just in the last few minutes, keir, the fbi association, the Agents Association which represents current and retired agents has issued their own endorsement saying they hope President Trump selects former house intelligence chairman mike rogers who was a congressman from michigan. Hes also a former fbi special agent. Mike rogers is on the list that we have been talking about but is not among those according to our sources who is being interviewed today. But the fbi Agents Association saying theyd like to see rogers be the new head of the fbi. Other names include those you see on the screen. They range from judges to agents themselves, people with experience within the department. Those whove worked in the department of justice. A mix of government experienced Law Enforcement experience and some being tested in public life over time. Its one of the things the president told reporters that he thinks is important that these individuals be high quality, suited for the job but also vetted over time. Heres a little bit of what the president said when he was talking to reporters earlier today. Do you think you might make a decision before you leave for departure . Outstanding people that are very well known, well make a fast decision. Before the trip next week you think possibly . Even that is possible. Almost all of them are very well known. Theyve been vetted over their lifetime essentially. But very well known, highly respected, really talented people. And thats what we want for the fbi. Reporter also being talked about today, texas senator republican senator john cornyn. He is at the department of justice now based on our eyes on the ground there among those being interviewed. You get a sense the president is looking to draw from political life, Law Enforcement, legal experience and maybe some management background when you look at some of the careers of some of these individuals as well. And people who are politically in line with the president even though it is an independent kind of position. And when the questioner was asking about before saudi, thats a reference to the president taking his first foreign trip. Hell leave this coming friday. So its a very tight window if he were to make a decision prior to that departure. Keir. All right. Nbcs Kelly Odonnell on duty there at the white house this saturday. Thanks very much. The aftermath of the firing has put the entire white house on defense. President trump denying a New York Times report he asked comey to pledge his loyalty amid the russia investigation. In a fox news interview airing tonight. I read that article. I dont think its inappropriate. Did you ask that question . No. No, i didnt. But i dont think it would be a bad question to ask. I think loyalty to the country, loyalty to the United States is important. You know, i mean, it depends on how you define loyalty. The president not happy with his surrogates defense of him. Now weighing a major shakeup of his Communications Team according to the wall street journal. He did take some responsibility for that. Are you moving so quickly that your Communications Department cannot keep up with you . Yes. Thats true. So what do we do about that . We dont have press conferences. And we do you dont mean that. Well, we just dont have them unless i have them every two weeks and do them myself, we dont have them. I think its a good idea. Joining me to discuss a busy news week, National Security reporter for the washington post, Charlie Savage and author of power wars, relentless rise of president ial authority and secrecy. Also with us is ron hosko former assistant director for the fbi. Matt, let me start with you. Trump raised a lot of eyebrows this week with a cryptic tweet saying comey better hope theres no tape of their january meeting. The president was asked about that in the fox news interview. Take a listen. What about the idea in a tweet you said there might be tape recordings . That i cant talk about. I wont talk about that. All i want is for comey to be honest. And i hope he will be. Im sure he will be, i hope. Matt, is there any indication a tape like that exists . There isnt, though the president would certainly be the one to know that. If a tape like that exists, youre watching and have access to it, send it along to me, id be curious to hear the recordings of these discussions of the president and fbi director. Im sure the whole world would be curious to hear the recordings. Would it be legal for the president to do that . Certainly hes within his power, i guess, to do that. The white house does record just as a matter of the technology they use a lot of phone calls. We had a report out today about how our reporters had strange interactions in our office where they suspected somebody else was listening in on their conversation. I dont know thats a straight out recording, but somebody listening in they didnt know was listening in. This kind of evokes nixon. And i think thats why people are so interested in it. Its also a thinly veiled threat to comey in some ways. Charlie, President Trump admitted he fired comey due in part of the russia investigation into his campaign. How close is this coming to an obstruction of justice . That was a really important thing that President Trump said. Obviously a complete break with the story his aides had been putting out up until then that this was on the advice of the Justice Department and had to do with his handling of Hillary Clintons emails. Ive talked to a lot of legal specialists about the obstruction of justice issue that keeps swirling around this. Obviously President Trump had the authority to remove the fbi director from office. But otherwise lawful things can become illegal obstruction of justice if theyre done for a corrupt purpose to impede an official investigation. So the fact that the president is saying he was thinking about the russia investigation at the moment he made the decision to remove jim comey is quite important. On the other hand, in the real world theres almost no chance that the Justice Department which of course is controlled by the Trump Administration would bring a case in court on that charge against the president. So what youre really talking about is a political charge that people who might some day want to try to impeach the president could throw around. Both bill clinton and Richard Nixon were accused of obstruction of justice. But thats not a question of legal analysis. Its a question of political will. Obviously right now in the Republican Congress that will does not exist. In my that interview with lester holt its a total hoax, a charade and looking for a new fbi director, are you not sending that person a message to lay off . No, im not doing that. I think we have to get back to work. What i want to find out, i want to get to the bottom. If russia hacked, if russia did anything having to do with our election, i want to know about it. Ron, how will you think comeys firing will effect the election . I think it will have minimal effect. If anything it will steel the will of the agents and managers working it to work harder, to push faster. But i dont think it will appreciably slow or negate the work that theyre doing. As long as they have the prosecutive support theyre going to need. As these investigations get complicated, particularly where you see potential transaction records, business records, phone records and overseas activity, those complexities very often require the work of a prosecutor or group of prosecutors to help move the investigation forward. So i think it will be important to see is the fbi getting that prosecutorive support from doj they need. Depending on whos picked to be the new fbi director, youd have potentially three republican politicians heading intelligence posts. Dan coates intelligence direct toy, mike pompeo cia director and depending on who the president picks for the fbi. Does that concern you, ron . You know, i think somebody who is actively a partisan, particularly if its currently look, i respect thd Rudy Giuliani and others, however, if youre actively partisan in this recent election, you know, those raise concerns for me. Just like whats going on in the house and to some extent on the senate. And to some extent the broader conversations that are so partisan and so hypocritical to me those are warning signs that somebody may not be destined or suited for this role. So i would prefer somebody who is steeped in an understanding of how doj works, how the fbi works and they havent been a clearly partisan politician in the recent past. Matt, which way do you think you see this going . In terms of who he will pick . Yeah. Well, i mean, ron raises some really good points. Theres a lot of people on the list of candidates being interviewed today that would check a lot of good boxes. Former fbi agents, former bush Justice Department officials. But theres also senator john cornyn. I think he would fully fall in the category of partisanship. I would never dame to predict exactly what this president is going to do. I would never pretend incompetent get inside his head. I think frankly even his own staff doesnt know a lot of the time. But i think, you know, if he wants to put the country at ease, he would pick someone who is nonpartisan who will sort of reassure the public that, hey, we can do this russia investigation the right way, the fair way and get to the truth of this thing. Charlie, i guess the politics of this is that it depends on how republicans view the president s pick. And then also how the fbi internally views the pick. Well, certainly how the republicans in the senate view it. Ever since democrats abolished the filibuster for executive Branch Nominations in 2013, you only need 50 votes plus the Vice President tie breaking vote to confirm someone like fbi director. So if President Trump were to go with a senator cornyn who by the way i think is an extremely smart person, probably one of the smarter senators there is, but is the number two republican in the chamber is clearly would be seen as a partisan figure violating the norm that the fbi is supposed to be above the fray. If the president did go that route, republicans with a defection or two could push him across the finish line without any democratic votes. That certainly would add to the discord that is currently gripping this city. All right, matt, charlie, ron, gentlemen, thank you all. Russia has been the focus of a lot of attention since the campaign. Vladimir putin believes the obsession with russia will soon die off. Out next we dive into russias view of the american political landscape. And later, part two of my exclusive interview with princess beatrice as she opens up about variety of issues, her cousins, william and harry, and how the new generation of the royal family has turned the page when it comes to talking about personal issues. , theres no other way to say this. Its over. Ive found a permanent escape from monotony. Together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. I know this is sudden, but they say if you love something. Set it free. 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Ask your doctor about farxiga and learn how you can get it for free. If you cant afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. Theres nothing more than my vacation. Me so when i need to book a hotel room, i want someone that makes it easy to find what i want. Booking. Com gets it. They offer free cancellation if my plans change. Visit booking. Com. Booking. Yeah. For all the mischief russia is accused of making in the United States these days, very little attention has been paid by russians themselves viewed the crisis for which they are blamed. And if recent appearances by top russian officials provide any indication, then it would appear russia is not exactly above gloating. Cast a shadow over your talks, gentlemen . Joining us now is molly mchue, an advisor to the former president of georgia. Molly, Sergei Lavrov there having a little fun at the expense of white house reporters this week. Does that indicate that russians are happy to see the u. S. In what they may view as turmoil . I think thats the right way to look at it. I think theres been a lot of discussion about whether or not the russians wanted trump, the russians wanted clinton. Do they think they can get a new deal with trump . Do they not . And regardless of what they achieve in terms of Foreign Policy objectives, one of their objectives has always been to sort of prove that american democracy and Representative Democracy in general is sort of just as bankrupt a system as what they have in russia. So this idea of total chaos in the United States, paralysis of governing and inability of government to move forward is something that the kremlin is enjoying very much. Okay. Heres russian president Vladimir Putin on the situation in the United States. Take a listen. How will the firing of james comey affect u. S. Russia relations . Translator there will be no affect. Your question looks very funny for me. Dont be angry with me. We have nothing to do with it. President trump is acting in accordance with his competence and in accordance with his law and constitution. What about us . Putin shrugging his shoulders there. His spokesman said today that the American People have an emotional obsession with russia, molly. Is he right . This is certainly the line the kremlin likes to take. I think the clip you just showed of putin at his hockey game while lavrov was in the oval office is a good one because this was sort of an amazing day in the news cycle where you have lavrov in washington sort of joking with reporters and joking with trump in the oval office. You have all of these other news developments about the trump russia investigations in washington that are sort of obsessing the washington environment. And you have putin on the ice shooting goals in a hockey game, carefree, foot loose and fancy free. I think thats very much the image he wants to project. I think they do not want too much attention to be paid to what will come out of warming relations with the United States. Im in estonia today, theres a big gathering of the local sort of Foreign Policy elite. And theres a russian representative here who was speaking at the conference to sort of express his views of the new policy. They dont think anything is going to change. They do not believe that russia and the United States will